Pinless sheet metal hinge construction and applications thereof



NAS 3,226,763

Jan. 4, 1966 c o PINLESS SHEET METAL HINGE CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATIONS THEREOF T 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 9, 1961 aha Mas 2? 4/0/14 U: z Q6 g 2% T N 77 Jan. 4, 1966 c. F. JONAS 3,226,763

PINLESS SHEET METAL HINGE CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATIONS THEREOF Filed Nov. 9, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 4, 1966 c. F. JONAS 3,226,763

PINLESS SHEET METAL HINGE CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATIONS THEREOF Filed Nov. 9, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 /d% i r/aj 47 #1 United States Patent 3,226,763 PINLESS SHEET METAL HINGE CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATIONS THEREOF Clarence F. Jonas, 618 Market St., Rockford, 11]. Filed Nov. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 151,340 14 Claims. (Cl. 16-171) This invention relates to a newand improved pinless sheet metal hinge construction, which, when made in different sizes and/or using different thicknesses of sheet metal, is suitable for a large variety of applications.

A salient feature of the present hinge is the provision of indented frusto conical trunnions on the arms of a U-shaped outer sheet metal hinge member adapted to he pivotally and resiliently engaged in the opposite ends of a tubular knuckle formed on the outer end of the companion inner sheet metal hinge member. In some instances, a single trunnion is sufiicien't, but there are usually two.

There are many uses for a simple andinexpensive hinge construction such as this one, for example:

(1) Asan inexpensive and light-weight friction hinge for adjustably mounting an auxiliary glareshield on an automobile sun visor, wherein the outer U-shaped hinge member can be provided on a clip detachably engageable over the edge of the visor,- while the inner hinge member, that provides the tubular knuckle on the outer end thereof, is provided as an integral part of a generally U-shaped sheet metal clip straddling and secured to the edge portion of a suitably colored plastic glare shield panel, that is adapted to be folded against the visor when not in use and can be swung into any desired angular relationship thereto when in use, the friction in the hinges serving to holdthe shield in any selected position of adjustment.

(2) In the case of a hinge for an automobile trunk lid, or a storage cabinet, for example where it is desired to provide an assist actionwith a coiled tension spring to help swing the lid toward closed position or toward fully opened position as a result of the movement of the spring past an intermediate dead-center position, the spring can be anchored at one end on the outer hinge member to 'oscillate bac'k and forth past the axis of rotation of the inner hinge member, the spring being anchored at its movable outer end to the adjoining end of the tubular knuckle, and in that application the arm of the outer hinge member, to which the first mentioned end of the coiled tension spring is fixed, is preferably cut away circumferentially of one side of the trunnion to provide operating clearance for the outer end of the spring attached to the knuckle and also provide limit stops at opposite ends of the cut' away portion where the outer spring can engage to limit swinging ,movementof the inner hinge member with the lid. r

(3) 0n cabinet doors of various types, as for example switch boxes, fuse boxes, refrigerator cabinets and the like, hinges of the present type may beju'sed inter=change= ably both for hinging a door. or other panel, and as a. means of releasably securing the door orpanel in closed position, and hence the door or panel may me opened interchangeably fronreither -side, as right or left-hand, and the door or panel is accordingly provided with handles or knobs adjacent both the right and left-hand edges thereof, making it unnecessary in the case of refrigerators, for example, to make them inboth right-hand opening and left-hand opening models.

(4) In various other applications calling for variable frictional drag on the pivoting of the hinge members with respect to one another, where, in other Words, it is not sufficient to depend entirely upon the inherent spring tension in the arms of the outer hinge member, a screw is provided entered freely in a center hole in one of the in dented trunnion portions and threaded in a center hole provided in the other of said indented trunnion portions, whereby the arms of the U-s'haped outer hinge member may be drawn together by screw adjustment to obtain the desired frictional drag to suit any given requirements to a nicety and moreover provide a means of quickly and easily compensating for wear by further adjustments of the screw from time to time, so as to maintain a given frictional drag, and the same screw may be used interchangeably as a means of spreading the arms apart by threading through another hole provided in one of the arms nearer the cross-portion of the U, the screw in that case serving by abutment with the other arm of the U to force the arms apart and thereby facilitate assembling of the tubular knuckle of the inner hinge member between the trunnions.

The invention is illustrated in the acoompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are three views of a pinless sheet metal hinge made in accordance with my invention, having the over-center spring feature and the friction drag adjusting screw" feature referred to above incorporated the-rein;

FIG, 4 is a sectional detail of the U-shaped outer hinge member illustrating how the arms of the U are adapted to be spread ap'art, using the same screw of FIGS. 1 to 3 in the special hole provided for that purpose in one of the arms in radially spaced relation to the trunnion portionthereon;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are two views of another pinless sheet met-alhinge of modified form, suitable for use on an automobile" glare shield, forexample;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an automobile sun visor with a glare shield mounted thereon by means of two hinges of the kind shown in FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet, shown on a small scale, having hinges of the present type on both the right and left hand edges of the door thereof to be operable either as a right-hand or a left-hand door, one pair of these hinges serving then only as lat-ching means to hold the door closed;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the'door of FIG. 8 swung partway open as a right-hand door, but indicating by another dotted are how the same door: is adapted to be swung open as a left-hand door, and

FIGS. 10 and 11 are two views of one of the hinges and/ or latch members.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 4, the reference numeral 13 designates a pinless sheet metal hinge made in accordance with my invention, comprising. an outer U- shaped sheet metal hinge member 14 and an inner sheet metal hinge member 15. The outer hinge member 14 is preferably formed from spring steel stock, because of the importance of resilience in the arms 16 and 17 thereof relative to the cross-portion 18, so that the frustoconically indentedcircular trunnions 19 and 20 will be held properly engaged in the opposite ends of the tubular knuckle 21 that is provided preferably as a curled integral end'portion on the outer end of the inner hinge membei 15. The inner hinge member does not require the use of spring steel stock, although the same spring steel stock as is used in the outer hinge member could, of course, be used there also. The cross-portion 18 of the U-shaped outer hinge member 14 serves as the attaching portion therefor, and for that purpose is preferably provicl'ed with holes 22 to receive screws or other fastening means. The inner hinge member 15 has an attaching shank portion 23, in which holes 24 may be provided in suitably spaced relation to receive screws or other fastening means. The trunnions 19 and 20 have line contact in a circle in the opposite ends of the knuckle 21, leaving a slight clearance between the ends of the knuckle 21 and the arms 16 and 17, as indicated at 25, so that there is no unnecessary frictional drag on the operation of the hinge where freedom of movement is desired.

In assembling the hinge, a screw 26 is threaded in the hole 27 provided in the arm 17 near the cross-portion 18 in radially spaced relation to the trunnion 29, as shown in FIG. 4, so that the screw by abutment at its inner end with the inner side of the other arm 16 is adapted when tightened to spread the arms 16 and 17 apart enough to enter the knuckle 21 of the inner hinge member between the trunnions 19 and 20 in the manner shown. Then, when the screw 26 is loosened, the arms 16 and 17 spring inwardly under their inherent resilience, and trunnions 19 and 20 are engaged in the opposite ends of knuckle 21, as shown in FIG. 1. Ordinarily, the spring pressure inherent in the part 14 is sufficient for most practical purposes, but if, for example, there would be any danger of the knuckle 21 slipping out from between the trunnions 19 and 20, as by reason of heavier loading of the hinge than usual, the screw 26, when passed freely through a center hole 28 in trunnion 20 and threaded in a center hole 29 in trunnion 19, as shown in FIG. 1, can be tightened to prevent spreading of the arms 16 and 17 and thereby prevent accidental disconnection of the hinge members. If, after some extended service, the parts 19, 20 and 21 become worn enough to necessitate a slight take-up in the clearance at 25, a fraction of a turn on the screw 26 in a tightening direction should take care of it, and, if more than ordinary friction, as frictional drag, on the operation of the hinge is desired, the screw 26 can be tightened to obtain the exact tightness in the hinge desired, and a lock nut, as indicated at 39 in FIG. 1, may be threaded on the protruding end of the screw 26 to lock the screw in its adjusted position by tightening the nut 30 against the outer side of the arm 16.

In certain applications of a hinge of this type, as for example, in the case of an automobile trunk lid, or the lid of a storage cabinet or tool box, and wherever an assist action is desired to help swing the lid toward closed position or toward fully opened position by spring action when the lid is on either side of an intermediate deadcenter position, a coiled tension spring may be provided, as shown at 31 in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, fixed at its one end to the arm 17 in a hole 32, and at its other end to the knuckle portion 21 of the inner hinge member in holes 33, this latter movable end portion 34 of the spring 31, serving by abutment with stops 35 and 36, that are 90 apart on the periphery of the trunnion 20, to limit the swinging movement of the inner hinge member 15 when the lid is closed and when it is fully opened. The stops 35 and 36 are defined by cutting away the marginal arcuate outer end portion of the arm 17 annularly with respect to the trunnion 20. The spring 31 with its fixed end anchored at 32 gives a stronger assist action in the one direction than in the other, as may be required for example to hold a heavy lid in open position. However, if the same assist action is desired in both directions, the fixed end of the spring 31 can be entered in the hole 27, which is midway between the stop shoulders 35 and 36.

Another application of a hinge of the present type is shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 wherein the hinges 13 are closely similar to the hinge 13 of FIGS. 1 to 3, the outer hinge member 14' of each of the hinges 13' being riveted or otherwise suitably secured, as indicated at 37, to spring clips 38 for mounting detachably as an attachment on the outer edge of an automobile sun visor 39 in remote relationship to the pivoted edge 40 that is carried on the usual swivelled supporting rod 41 over an automobile windshield, the inner hinge member 15' being attached to the inner edge of a suitably colored plastic glare shield 42, so that the glare shield when not in use may folded flatly against the visor 39 and be out of the way, permitting the visor to be used in the conventional manner. When there is a need for a glare shield, as when driving toward a setting sun, the glare shield 42 can be unfolded, as shown in FIG. 7, to provide the needed protection for the eyes of the driver. The outer hinge member 14' has trunnions 19' and 20' provided as indented circular frusto-conical portions on the arms 16 and 17 thereof for swivel engagement in the opposite ends of the tubular knuckle portion 21' on the inner end of the inner hinge member 15. The inner hinge members 15' are generally U-shaped, as seen in FIGS. 5 and 7, providing the two arms 43 and 44 that are closely spaced, the arm 44 having a sharp edged eye-brow pro- .jection 45 punched inwardly therefrom by means of which to frictionally grip the plastic glare shield 42 when the latter is thrust edgewise upwardly between the arms 43 and 44, such inward movement being relatively easy because of the direction of inclination of the projection 45, but withdrawal in the other direction being prevented by the cutting and scraping action on the plastic sheet which the sharp edges on the eye-brow projections 45 are capable of.

In FIGS. 8 to 11, I have shown still another application of hinges 13b, both as hinges for the door 46 of a refrigerator cabinet 47 and as latching means for holding the door closed, whereby selectively to have right or lefthand hinging of the same door by merely providing one handle 48 for right-hand hinging and another handle 49 for left-hand hinging. Except for the fact that the hinges 1312 are made a little larger and of thicker sheet metal, these hinges are the same as the hinges 13 and 13', generally speaking, but, in order to facilitate the right and left-hand hinging, the outer end portions 50 of the arms 16b and 17b of the outer hinge member 14b are inclined to the diverging relationship seen in FIG. 11, whereby to facilitate entry of the knuckle portion 21b of the inner hinge member 1511, the trunnions 19b and 2% being substantially the same as the trunnions on the other hinges previously described. The leading edges on the knuckle 21b may also be chamfered, as indicated at 51 in FIG. 11, to further facilitate the entry of the knuckles between the trunnions in the closing of the door. While I have mentioned here the application of my improved hinges to refrigerator doors, there are many other similar applications, as on switch boxes, fuse boxes, and various other cabinets where, with a similar construction, either right or left-hand operation is obtainable and would be of similar advantage as in the case of refrigerators. Of course, the hinges should be made as light or as heavy as the needs of the particular application require.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. A pinless hinge comprising an outer spring steel hinge member of generally U-shape providing opposed arms of a width appropriate for the weight and size of the object to be hingedly mounted thereon that are springable normally toward each other, and a sheet metal inner hinge member having a curled generally cylindrical end portion defining an elongated knuckle portion disposed endwise between and holding said arms spread apart and defining a substantially cylindrical bore therein open at both ends, and said arms having inwardly depressed circular portions of the walls thereof defining coaxially aligned fiat-ended frusto-conical trunnion projections thereon pivotally engaged with line contact in the opposite ends of said bore, said trunnion projections being both of the same diameter and of small but uniform height in relation to diameter, the diameter being the major portion of the width of said arms, this construction requiring only slight spring-apart of said arms in order to insert said knuckle portion between them in bearing relationship to said trunnions in assembling the hinge.

2. A pinless hinge as set forth in claim 1, including a screw having a head on one end, said screw having a shank extending freely through the knuckle lengthwise thereof and extending through coaxially aligned holes provided in said arms, one. of which holes is threaded and has the screw threadedly adjustable therein to draw the arms together and accordingly vary the frictional drag on the operation of the hinge.

3. A hinge as set forth in claim 2 including a lock nut threaded on the outer end of the shank of said screw and tightenable against the arm in which the threaded hole is provided, whereby to maintain a desired frictional drag on the operation of the hinge.

4. A hinge as set forth in claim 2 including a screw threaded hole provided in one of the arms of the outer hinge member in spacedrelation to the cross-portion of the U adapted to receive a screw substantially in parallelism with said cross-portion adapted to be tightened into abutment with the other arm of the U to cause spreadin-g of the arms to facilitate assembling the knuckle portion of the inner hinge member between the trunnion projections on said arms.

5. A pinless hinge as set forth in claim 1, wherein the outer end portions of the arms of the U are bent into outwardly diverging relationship, whereby to facilitate entry therebetween of the knuckle portion of the inner hinge member.

6. Pinless hinges of the construction set forth in claim 5, applied to a cabinet having a door opening provided therein, a door adapted to serve as a closure for said opening, there being two sets of .said hinges on diametrically opposite sides of said door opening and door, each set defining a hinging axis parallel to the hinging axis defined by the other set and having their outer members secured to the cabinet and having their inner member secured to the door, and handles provided on said door on the diametrically opposite outer side portions thereof, whereby either set of hinges functions as supporting hinges for the door when opened from the diametrically opposite side, the other set functioning then only as a means for holding the door closed.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6 wherein the knuckle portions on the inner members of said hinges are bevelled on the ends on that side which comes into contact with the frusto-conical trunnion projections in the return of the inner hinge members.

8. A pinless hinge as set forth in claim 1, wherein the outer end portions of the arms of the U are bent into outwardly diverging relationship, whereby to facilitate entry therebetween of the knuckle portion of the inner hinge member, the knuckle portion of the inner hinge member being bevelled at the ends on that side that first engages the frusto-conical trunnion projections in the entry of said knuckle portion, whereby to facilitate spreading of the arms for entry of said trunnion projections in the recesses in the ends of the knuckle portion.

9. A pinless hinge as set forth in claim 1, wherein the outer end portion of one of said arms is bent away from the outer end portion of the other arm at an acute angle to facilitate entry of the knuckle portion of the inner hinge member between said arms.

10. Pinless hinges of the construction set forth in claim 1, applied to a sun visor of generally rectangular form, and a transparent glare shield of generally rectangular form, there being a pair of said hinges coaxially arranged for hingedly mounting the glare shield by its one longitudinal edge portion on the outer longitudinal edge portion of said visor, the inner member of each of said hinges being secured to the longitudinal edge portion of the glare shield, the outer member of each of said hinges having a clip secured thereto detachably engageable over the outer longitudinal edge portion of the sun visor.

11. A pinless hinge comprising an outer spring sheet metal hinge member bent to U-shape providing opposed arms that are springable normally toward each other, an inner hinge member having an elongated knuckle portion disposed endwise between and holding said arms spread apart and having trunnion receiving recesses of cylindrical form in the opposite ends thereof, the arms of said outer hinge member having frusto-conical indentations provided thereon in coaxial alignment defining frusto-conical projections pivotally engaged in said recesses, one of the arms of the outer hinge member having an elongated opening provided therein on an arc concentric with the frusto-conical indentation, and a coiled tension spring stretched across said indentation in said arm outside the outer hinge member and anchored at one end on said arm and having the other end portion disposed in said opening and anchored to the knuckle portion of the inner hinge member to oscillate relative to the hinge axis in the opening and closing of the hinge, said spring urging the inner hinge member in one direction when disposed on a line on one side of the axis of rotation, and in the other direction when disposed on a line on the other side of said axis.

12. A hinge as set forth in claim 11, wherein the spring end portion attached to the knuckle portion of the inner hinge member is arranged to strike the ends of said opening at the opposite extremes of hinging movement, whereby positively to limit such movement.

13. A pinless hinge as set forth in claim 11, including a screw having a head on one end, said screw having a shank extending freely through the knuckle lengthwise thereof and extending through coaxially aligned holes provided in said arms, one of which holes is threaded and has the screw threadedly adjustable therein to enable drawing the arms together and accordingly varying the frictional drag on the operation of the hinge.

14. A pinless hinge as set forth in claim 13, including a screw threaded hole provided in one of the arms of the outer hinge member in spaced relation to the crossportion of the U adapted to receive a screw substantially in parallelism with said cross-portion adapted to be tightened into abutment with the other arm of the U to spread the arms so as to facilitate assembling the knuckle portion of the inner hinge member between said arms and in bearing engagement with the frusto-conical indentation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 813,128 2/1906 Williams. 1,298,547 3/ 1919 Muller-Meyer 16-171 X 1,299,745 4/1919 Ludlow. 1,374,311 4/1921 Metcalf 24-81 1,530,965 3/1925 Wild. 1,562,565 11/1925 Koze 16-128 1,708,725 4/1929 Huempfner. 1,989,159 1/1935 Shiffman et a1 206-44 2,094,446 9/ 1937 Clement -60 2,224,259 12/ 1940 Florm-an 24-81 2,341,537 2/1944 Froelich 16-172 2,648,091 8/1953 Jones 16-140 2,873,471 2/1959 Swanson 16-147 3,008,175 11/1961 Biedinger et al. 16-128 3,038,676 6/1962 Mayer 16-171 X 3,061,870 1l/1962 Giannini 16-417 X FOREIGN PATENTS 200,023 12/ 1938 Switzerland.

JOSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner.

M. HENSON WOOD, IR., DONLEY I. STOCKING,

Examiners. 

1. A PINLESS HINGE COMPRISING AN OUTER SPRING STEEL HINGE MEMBER OF GENERALLY U-SHAPE PROVIDING OPPOSED ARMS OF A WIDTH APPROXIATE FOR THE WEIGHT AND SIZE OF THE OBJECT TO BE HINGEDLY MOUNTED THEREON THAT ARE SPRINGABLE NORMALLY TOWARD EACH OTHER, AND A SHEET METAL INNER HINGE MEMBER HAVING A CURLED GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL END PORTION DEFINING AN ELONGATED KNUCKLE PORTION DISPOSED ENDWISE BETWEEN AND HOLDING SAID ARMS SPREAD APART AND DEFINING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL BORE THEREIN OPEN AT BOTH ENDS, AND SAID ARMS HAVING INWARDLY DEPRESSED CIRCULAR PORTIONS OF THE WALLS THEREOF DEFINING COAXIALLY ALIGNED FLAT-ENDED FRUSTO-CONICAL TRUNNION PROJECTIONS THEREON PIVOTALLY ENGAGED WITH LINE CONTACT IN THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID BORE, SAID TRUNNION PROJECTIONS BEING BOTH OF THE SAME DIAMETER AND OF SMALL BUT UNIFORM HEIGHT IN RELATION OF DIAMETER, THE DIAMETER BEING THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE WIDTH OF SAID ARMS, THIS CONSTRUCTION REQUIRING ONLY SLIGHT SPRING-APART OF SAID ARMS IN ORDER TO INSERT SAID KNUCKLE PORTION BETWEEN THEM IN BEARING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID TRUNNIONS IN ASSEMBLY THE HINGE. 